There are many reasons that someone might need the services of an attorney. You might need an attorney for a drunk driving charge, a marriage divorce case or even for a personal injury accident. One of the most common legal cases in court, but under recognized legal concerns is that of financial litigation attorney cases. Litigation attorneys protect the rights of those illegally harmed by a financial institution or banking company. This could be in the form of mortgage fraud, estate and planning fraud and even financial advisor misconduct or fraud. When someone is the victim of one of these examples, it is important to hire professional and experienced litigation attorneys to properly represent the case.
Securities fraud, also known as stock fraud and investment fraud, is a deceptive practice in the stock or commodities markets that induces investors to make purchase or sale decisions on the basis of false information, frequently resulting in losses, in violation of securities laws. In 2014, there were 1,639 securities and commodities fraud pending cases. A business attorney or litigation attorneys are specifically helpful in these types of cases. There have been records and media accounts of this exact type of security fraud, making it a well known type of legal case.
Most people are aware of the large financial crisis over the last few years. Many people lost their jobs, resulting in home losses. Those who were able to hold onto their homes for a while saw the housing market drastically reduce, resulting in underwater home mortgages. Many homes went into bankruptcy and the housing and stock markets were at all time lows. Many people blame the banks for this situation. In 2014, the SEC filed new additional charges against the Bank of America as part of a global settlement in which Bank of America admits that it failed to inform investors during the financial crisis about known uncertainties to future income from its exposure to repurchase claims on mortgage loans. The bank agreed to pay a $20 million penalty. Litigation attorneys are the best type of attorney for these types of large scale, class action type of legal cases. A financial advisor attorney may also be necessary in the case that someone?s individual finances were affected as a result of this investment fraud case.
In addition to the mortgage and stock frauds, an estate planning attorney or litigation attorneys may be needed in business misconduct or fraud cases. An example of this would be in a business pyramid scheme. This is intentional fraud, misinforming people of business opportunities. It is considered illegal and legal actions can be taken by a probate and estate administration department. A pyramid scheme typically starts with an initial recruiter sitting atop the apex of the pyramid. They recruit a second who is required to invest a certain amount, which is paid to the initial recruiter. The new recruit must then recruit more people under them, all of whom also have to invest. If the recruit gets 10 more people to invest, he or she will make a profit with just a small investment. This is not a legitimate or legal way to make money, as the terms of the scheme are generally not shared. Many companies have been shut down and suffered from legal fines as a result of attempting to push these pyramid type schemes to unaware investors.
When most people think attorneys, they think of felony or misdemeanor common crimes. However, many of the legal cases currently in court are of the business or estate nature. Many of them involve larger companies, like Bank of America or other mortgage companies. Many of these larger cases are the result of a class action lawsuit or a pyramid scheme lawsuit. The country has very strict and set rules regarding the appropriate practices of businesses and investments and a company that does not follow can pay a lot of monetary fines.